"Daily Show" correspondent Jordan Klepper has become known for mocking supporters of former President Donald Trump simply by leading them through their own logic. Speaking to CNN host Jim Acosta, Klepper explained that he can't change minds because so much of what anti-vaccine people believe isn't based on facts, but on tribal politics.
In Klepper's last video, he appeared at a North Carolina rally for Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) that wasn't even in his congressional district. The Daily Show's Trump fan "expert" explained why his line of questioning didn't exactly change minds.
"Jordan, I feel your pain," said Acosta. "My brain hurts just watching some of what you just showed us a few moments ago. I think you might have broken a few brains with the power of the follow-up question, which is an art form, I have to say. My hat is off to you."
Acosta asked Klepper if the anti-maskers's minds were changed or if they were too dug into their own ideology.
"At that specific rally, there was no light bulb moment. everybody was pretty much was dug in," said Klepper. "There are valid concerns people have about what this will do to children. Children with disabilities, who maybe can't communicate as well with a mask on. But, sadly, those conversations weren't happening because they were stuck in this grievance gumbo. We were talking not only about masks smelling but critical race theory got thrown in there. And it just became this giant mess. It was difficult to get through and talk about ways in which you can get what everybody wants, which is, essentially, schools open and kids healthy."
Acosta noted that when he was at Trump rallies interviewing supporters, he found that once the cork was out of the bottle, a flood of grievances would follow that don't even have to do with the question asked.
"Some of this is by design," said Klepper. "That event that I was at, Madison Cawthorn came in. It wasn't his district, but he came in and talked about critical race theory, trans athletes coming over and taking female sports in high schools. It got far away from taking care of the kids. That particular rally I was at, everybody had their own theories. A new one that I heard was specifically that Satanists stand six feet apart. If you see people taking precautions where they are six feet apart, that is a cue of 666 and not just people responsibly standing in a line at Best Buy."
Acosta lamented that it's the most difficult part of the argument over masks because it isn't only about masks. He ran another clip of Klepper in North Carolina, revealing the anti-mask and anti-vaccine people being shown the hypocrisy or absurdity of their statements, effectively humiliating them before the national viewing audience.
"You threw her off there for a second," Acosta marveled as Klepper spoke to one woman. "At least you may have connected for a moment."
Klepper said that logic sometimes has a way of doing that, even if it's only a flash of reality.
"It used to be shocking," he noted. "It is not about general health or vaccine. It falls down to tribalism. Folks aren't refusing to wear masks because they have read the science. Even though they have some laminated paper with the science from a quick google search. They are doing it politically on the side they are on. They would rather be right. It is a disconnect from some of the people I talked to from the realities of that situation. Which is a tragedy, because the reality of that situation can be seen in ICUs and as other people are passing away. At times it feels like it is being played like a game and not being played like what you said on this show. We have 700,000 people passing away. We're not talking about that. We are talking about my side winning, and my side happens to be not taking a vaccine."
Klepper went on to tell Acosta about being outside the U.S. Capitol interviewing people on Jan. 6. He recalled talking to someone who was clearly one of the craziest people there, but who then ultimately got upstaged by a guy with a pitchfork.
See Acosta's full interview below:
Klepper Acosta www.youtube.com
